CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1 Table of Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE RECENT HISTORY OF PLANNING FOR A WATER SUPPLY PROJECT
1.2 PURPOSES OF THE CARMEL RIVER DAM AND RESERVOIR PROJECT AND CHANGES TO THE PROJECT
1.3 CEQA REQUIREMENTS
1.4 BASIC ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE SEIR

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The California-American Water Company (Cal-Am) is a private utility that, since 1966, has provided water service to the Monterey Peninsula. In 1997, Cal-Am customers used approximately 16,000 acre-feet (af) of water. Residents currently use about 60% of the total water demand, commerce and industry about 16%, hotels and restaurants about 7%, public authorities about 10%, and golf courses about 6%. Cal-Am has three principal sources of water: surface water from the Carmel River, wells in the Carmel Valley aquifer, and wells in the Seaside Coastal Subareas. Surface water is stored in two dams on the Carmel River: the San Clemente Dam, constructed in 1921, and the Los Padres Dam, completed in 1949. The combined total storage of these facilities is presently about 2,300 af. Cal-Am's second major source is 23 wells along the Carmel River that draw approximately 9,000 af per year (af/yr) of water from the Carmel Valley alluvial aquifer; its third source is a network of wells in the Seaside Coastal Subareas that draw approximately 4,000 af/yr. The Seaside Groundwater Basin is distinct from the Carmel River Basin, but the two basins are connected by Cal-Am pipelines and other distribution system components.

In 1977, the California State Legislature created the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) with the principal purposes of augmenting water supplies to meet existing and future needs of the Monterey Peninsula and avoid impacts of droughts, preserving and protecting the public trust (environmental) resources of the Carmel River, and integrating water development and natural resource management of the Monterey Peninsula Water Resources System (MPWRS). MPWMD is the regional water management agency for the greater Monterey Peninsula and has regulatory authority over Cal-Am and other water distribution systems. This authority includes setting annual water production limits and approving requests to create, expand, or amend water distribution systems.

Cal-Am has submitted an application to MPWMD requesting approval of a permit to amend its water distribution system by constructing the Carmel River Dam and Reservoir Project (CRDRP). That application was deemed complete on March 24, 1997. The CRDRP is structurally identical to the New Los Padres (NLP) project previously proposed by MPWMD but has different objectives and proposed uses for some of the water that would be provided. For example, the Cal-Am application characterizes the CRDRP as a "no growth" project that would maintain the existing Cal-Am system production limit of 17,641 af/yr imposed by MPWMD. Water that could have accommodated growth with the earlier NLP project is envisioned to remain in the water resources system to improve streamflow and drought protection with the CRDRP.

This chapter summarizes the following information:

recent history of the planning and environmental review process for a water supply project for the Monterey Peninsula,
project objectives for the CRDRP and the differences between the NLP project and the CRDRP,
requirements for environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and
basic organizational framework of this supplemental environmental impact report (SEIR).

1.1 A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE RECENT HISTORY OF PLANNING FOR A WATER SUPPLY PROJECT

The need for some type of water supply project for the Monterey Peninsula has long been recognized by MPWMD and its predecessors, Cal-Am, regulatory agencies, and the community. Such a project has been pursued to address the fact that community water extracted from the MPWRS is vulnerable to periodic droughts and harms the public trust resources of the Carmel River system.

To address these issues, MPWMD and several other agencies have been involved in a lengthy process of alternatives selection and environmental review to develop a water supply project for the Monterey Peninsula. In an effort to augment the area's water supply to address shortfalls, meet projected demand, and ameliorate environmental damage to the Carmel River system caused by pumping, MPWMD has studied more than 70 water supply alternatives and combinations of alternatives and has implemented an environmental mitigation program along the Carmel River. Through an earlier alternatives selection process, the NLP project, a proposed dam and reservoir on the Carmel River, was selected by MPWMD in 1994 and again in 1995 as the preferred alternative to meet the water supply needs of the Monterey Peninsula.

MPWMD prepared the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project Environmental Impact Report and Statement (known as the NLP EIR) required under CEQA and the Final EIR/IS for that project, including an addendum, was certified in September 1994 (MPWMD 1994a). In May 1995, MPWMD prepared Addendum-2 to the Final EIR, which involved evaluating more detailed geotechnical and engineering studies, a draft Engineer's Report, microclimate and viticulture issues, and several other items (MPWMD 1995a). In June and July 1995, MPWMD obtained a Section 404 permit under the federal Clean Water Act and a water rights permit from the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) for the NLP project.

Also in July 1995, the SWRCB finalized Order WR 95-10, which determined that 10,730 af/yr of water pumped from the Carmel River is being diverted unlawfully by Cal-Am. In the order, the SWRCB required Cal-Am to diligently implement one or more of the following actions to terminate its unlawful diversions from the Carmel River:

obtain appropriate permits for water being unlawfully diverted from the Carmel River,
obtain water from other sources of supply and make one-for-one reductions in unlawful
diversions from the Carmel River, and/or
contract with another agency having appropriative rights to divert and use water from the Carmel River.

The order was in response to four complaints that SWRCB received between 1987 and 1991 regarding Cal-Am's operations in the Carmel River watershed.

In August 1995, MPWMD recertified the NLP EIR along with an Update to Addendum-2 (MPWMD 1995b), finalized the Engineer's Report (MPWMD 1995c), and set an election on a bond measure to fund the project. The 1995 certification was rescinded by the MPWMD Board of Directors in September 1997 based on rulings by the Superior and Appellate Courts. In November 1995, however, the electorate failed to authorize MPWMD to construct the NLP project. As a result of that election, the MPWMD Board of Directors directed its staff to reassess alternatives not related to dam construction while keeping the NLP permits viable.

In January and February 1996, MPWMD held public workshops, reevaluated more than 50 alternatives, and developed an action plan for addressing water supply alternatives that emphasized non-dam-related projects. From May to December 1996, MPWMD funded new evaluations of desalination options and reclamation and use of the Seaside aquifer, as well as developed a preliminary water augmentation plan based on study results (MPWMD 1996). Additional evaluations of the Seaside Coastal Subareas were performed in 1997 and are summarized in a January 1998 staff report (MPWMD 1998a).

In November 1996, Cal-Am first proposed to construct the CRDRP as a means to comply with the SWRCB's order. At that time, Cal-Am submitted permit applications to MPWMD for expansion of its distribution system to include the new reservoir, to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for a certificate of public convenience and necessity, and to the SWRCB. Communications are ongoing with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) concerning the Section 404 permit. The application to MPWMD included a request by Cal-Am that MPWMD license use of MPWMD's existing state and federal permits for the dam. As indicated previously, Cal-Am's application was deemed complete in March 1997. Based on an initial study, MPWMD determined that an EIR on the project must be prepared. This SEIR on the CRDRP as proposed by Cal-Am serves that purpose.

1.2 PURPOSES OF THE CARMEL RIVER DAM AND RESERVOIR PROJECT AND CHANGES TO THE PROJECT

Cal-Am has stated the following project objectives for the CRDRP:

to address requirements of SWRCB Order WR 95-10 that compel Cal-Am to make lawful 10,730 af of annual water production historically taken from the Carmel River system,
to restore streamflow to the Carmel River to protect the public trust resources, and
to improve drought protection for the community.

In addition, the proposed project differs from the NLP project because the CRDRP does not propose to involve municipal use of 3,381 af/yr of water that had been intended to meet long-term community water needs as part of the NLP project. Rather, this water is proposed to remain in the water resources system to provide increased drought protection and enhance streamflow beyond current conditions.

1.3 CEQA REQUIREMENTS

This document is a "supplemental EIR" in the sense that it supplements information provided in the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project EIR/IS prepared by MPWMD in 1994. In response to a lawsuit (Galante Vineyards v. MPWMD, Monterey County case number 101478), the Superior Court of Monterey County, California, ruled in December 1995 that the certification of the 1994 Final EIR was legally inadequate with regard to the issue of viticulture; the court mandated that the certification be set aside and a focused supplemental EIR be prepared addressing this issue alone. (The case was appealed by MPWMD; in August 1997, the Sixth District Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court's decision [Galante Vineyards v. MPWMD, case number H015346] and directed MPWMD to prepare a focused supplemental EIR.) The court also stated that the supplemental EIR could review any other issue that MPWMD deemed appropriate.

Because of this court decision, this SEIR is technically a companion document to the 10-volume NLP EIR, including addenda (MPWMD 1994a-d, 1995a-c). Once it is certified, this SEIR and the NLP EIR will constitute the Final EIR for the CRDRP.

Under CEQA, MPWMD is the lead agency that will process Cal-Am's permit application to expand its water distribution system by constructing the CRDRP. The CPUC, acting as a responsible agency under CEQA, will review the SEIR. In accordance with its statutory requirements, the CPUC will decide whether to approve Cal-Am's application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to increase water rates to pay for the project.

1.4 BASIC ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE SEIR

As stated previously, this SEIR is integrated with the previous set of environmental documents for the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project EIR/IS. As such, this SEIR contains the necessary elements to:

correct deficiencies noted by the Superior Court,
address new information that has the potential to create new significant impacts or impacts of greater severity than those evaluated previously, and
discuss new alternatives and other issues raised since the 1994 Final EIR was prepared.

Following this introductory chapter, the project objectives and description are provided in Chapter 2. Chapter 3, "Reader's Summary", identifies where specific topics are discussed, provides the rationale for including various topics, and summarizes pertinent information about each topic. Chapters 4-11 contain technical analyses related to traffic, climate and air quality, noise, cultural resources, socioeconomics, visual resources, growth-inducing impacts, and cumulative impacts and appendices. Chapter 12, "Citations", lists printed references and personal communications cited in the text; Chapter 13, "List of Preparers", lists the individuals and firms that contributed to this SEIR; Chapter 14 is a glossary of defined terms and list of acronyms used in the SEIR. The document also contains an index. In addition, the SEIR contains 11 appendices addressing technical analyses at a greater level of detail than that provided in the text:

A. Evaluation of Water Supply Alternatives;
B. Evaluation of Water Supply;
C. Hydrology and Water Quality;
D. Fisheries and Aquatic Life;
E. Vegetation and Terrestrial Wildlife Update;
F. Cachagua Land Use, Recreation, and Planning;
G. State Water Resources Control Board Orders WR 95-10 and WR 98-04;
H. Identification and Evaluation of Traditional Esselen Cultural PropertiesCCarmel River Dam;
I. Background Information on Acoustics;
J. Evaluation of Potential Effects of the Carmel River Dam and Reservoir Project on Cachagua Valley Vineyards; and
K. Programmatic Agreement under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

List of Acronyms
California-American Water Company (Cal-Am) (1-1)
acre-feet (af) (1-1)
af per year (af/yr) (1-1)
Monterey Peninsula Water Resources System (MPWRS) (1-1)
Carmel River Dam and Reservoir Project (CRDRP) (1-1)
New Los Padres (NLP) (1-1)
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (1-2)
supplemental environmental impact report (SEIR) (1-2)
Monterey Peninsula Water Management District [MPWMD] 1994a (1-2)
California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) (1-3)
Cal-Am (1-3)
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) (1-3)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps (1-3)

List of Citations
(MPWMD 1994a) (1-2)
Update to Addendum-2 (MPWMD 1995b) (1-3)
finalized the Engineer's Report (MPWMD 1995c) (1-3)
10-volume NLP EIR, including addenda (MPWMD 1994a-d, 1995a-c) (1-4)

Index
Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) 1-1
Monterey Peninsula Water Resources System (MPWRS) 1-1
Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project Environmental Impact Report and Statement 1-2
Order WR 95-10 1-3
supplemental EIR 1-4
(Galante Vineyards v. MPWMD) 1-4

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